UK HR Term
Carry-over (annual leave)
Carry-over is the practice of moving unused annual leave from one leave year into the next. The UK statutory rules differ for the EU-derived 4 weeks and the additional 1.6 weeks of leave.
In plain English
Most employees don't take all their holiday in the year it accrues. Carry-over is the rules around what happens to the rest. UK law splits statutory leave into two pots, and each has different carry-over rules.
The two statutory pots
- 4 weeks of EU-derived leave can only be carried over in limited circumstances — long-term sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption, parental, or shared parental leave. Once carried over, it must be used within 18 months.
- 1.6 weeks of additional UK leave can be carried over by mutual agreement between employer and employee — typically with a written record or contract clause.
Anything above statutory
Holiday above the 5.6-week minimum is purely contractual. Employers can set whatever carry-over rules they like — often capped at five days, or "use it or lose it." These rules should be in the employment contract or staff handbook.
Practical implication
Encourage employees to take their leave during the year. Carry-over backlogs become an accounting and operational headache (and a liability on the balance sheet). A good leave year-end reminder cycle (typically starting two months before year-end) is the cheapest fix.
How Luna HR handles this
Luna HR Leave Management — configurable per-leave-type carry-over caps